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Though i believe that happiness should radiate from the inside, I also believe that it’s not bad to keep the outside looking good when the inside is bruised and tattered either.

What exactly am I talking about? It’s the PHYSICIANS FORMULA Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Powder. The one I have is in Translucent, which is a powder, rather than being a bronzer like the other variants.

The first thing that caught my attention was it’s cuteness. Hearts, hearts, hearts over it! So adorable!

One would think that it’s cuteness is its claim to its mood-boosting trait, but the happiness doesn’t stop there. Here’s the back of the box so you can read all about the wonderful things the powder has to give.

EUROPHYL. Big word, huh? Endorphins are the brain’s happy hormones, and it says here that Europhyl mimics its effect. Although it’s not always advisable to rely on artificial sources of happiness,an extra mood boost isn’t so bad either. We’re not getting high on make-up anyway, so it’s all good.:)

The packaging features a compact wherein you lift the powder pan to reveal a mirror, and a mini-brush at the bottom.

I honestly dislike the mini brush. The bristles are so scratchy and stiff! It’s horrible compared to my Missha and Tony Moly brushes, honestly. I’m not gonna use the mini brush at all.

The powder looks nice on the skin, though I wouldn’t exactly call it transluscent. It gives a little glow, although not so much “shimmery”. It’s been described as a candle-light glow, and that’s something I would totally have to agree to.

I don’t see myself using this as a true hardcore translucent powder though, as the pigment and the glow is a tad too much for my face. If I were to do that, I’d most likely be taking “blooming” to a whole new level. I’d probably use this on my cheeks for those days when I’d want to look glowing and healthy, but blush would be too much; or for those days when I’d just want to have fun contouring. I have a picture of it swatched on my hand.

This is a nice powder to have, although I can’t really tell what it is exactly. 🙂

Oh by the way, if you’re curious as to whether or not the powder has really made me happy, well.. It’s quite soon to tell. I took a whiff of it after swatching, and I felt nice.:) I’ll have more things to say about the product when I use it more

I remember once in an international youth activity in Samarinda wherein one of my Indonesian sister dearests asked me why beauty pageants are so popular in the Philippines. I was seriously stumped by the question, and I really wish I had a better answer to that than, “It’s because we are so beautiful.”. Sometimes I really do wonder why. It’s not like all Filipinos are towering statues sent by the heavens to spread beauty to the world. It’s not all about the celebrity culture either, because these pageant ladies are the real deal. The unity of beauty and brains is taken to a whole new level, and it’s a level worth paying great attention to; with that being said, I believe that the very essence of the popularity of beauty pageants in the Philippines stems from having a good example to look up to.

My school, Centro Escolar Univeristy, has this annual pageant, Mr. & Miss CEU. I hate to brag, but almost every year, at least one contestant from the School of Dentistry bag a title (or two). In 2010, Jeselle Vyne Vinoya bagged the Miss CEU 2010 title. 2012 gave the prestigious title to Chloe Ann Joy Miranda. 2013 was another awesome year, as Barbara Leigh Ignacio bagged the Miss CEU 2013 First Runner-Up title. Truly, it has, and will always be an honor to be friends with ladies of inner and outer beauty. I have always been proud to witness the embodiment of grace and intelligence in these ladies.

This year, I’m proud to say that I have a friend competing in the pageant again. This is none other than Kristel Guelos. I first met her in 2008, as we were classmates in one of our Pre-Dent subjects. I was really stuck by her beauty, from the first time I saw her. Of course, time has been good to her, as she has seemingly getting more and more beautiful as the years went by. Her name may ring a few bells here and there, because she has already competed in one of the country’s major pageants, as she represented Tanauan City in the 2013 Miss Earth Philippines pageant.

Let me tell you about Kristel. She’s a very warm, loving and grounded person. She relates well with pretty much everyone. It’s really easy to grow fond of someone who can be well-described as a burst of warm sunshine that can brighten up anyone’s day. She epitomizes values expected of a God-loving individual, which include kindness, humanism, and concern for the common good. Of course I’d love to go on and on about Kristel, but sometimes actually getting to know the person is far better than counting on words alone.

I really hope that CANDIDATE #10, Kristel Guelos, School of Dentistry takes home the title of MISS CEU 2014.

There may never be enough words to describe how much I would love her to win, but sometimes, all we have to say is that when your queen stands right there in front of you, there won’t be any room for doubts. You would just know.:)

Oh, by the way, there will be an ONLINE VOTING, as a segment of the pageant. This is not limited to CEU students.
I strongly encourage all those who can read this to vote for Kristel Guelos by first hitting “LIKE“, on the CEU University Student Council Manila Facebook Page, and finding the photo of CANDIDATE #10 Kristel Guelos, and then hitting “LIKE” on that as well.

I know, I know.. I have to stop it with the eye shadows already. In fairness, this is my last joint one. After this, I’m moving on to blushes. I PROMISE.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a promo size of the CLINIQUE Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad. It came into my life just when I realized that I don’t have matte shadows yet, and was contemplating getting the similar-looking The Body Shop Holiday 2013 Eye Shadow Palette. Since Clinique is known for producing excellent skin care products, I definitely had no qualms about this palette.

The palette comes with an applicator too. Foam on one end, and a fluffy brush on the other. I might not use it, because I have greater control with full-length brushes, but it’s nice to have a mini for those on-the-go touch-ups.

The tiny palette housestwo single shades each from the Blushing Nude Trioand the Pink Chocolate Quad, as well as Stone Violet and Chocolate Chip from Stay Matte.

The shadows are so smooth and buttery, as expected from Clinique make-up. It’s of awesome pigmentation, though I did notice a slight (lower) difference with Stone Violet. I can’t really decide which one is my favorite shade, because all of them are just so pretty!

Oh my, where’d my fingers go?
This is how the colors look on my melanin-lovin’ skin. I like the way Chocolate Chip and Stone Violet look right there! They go so well with sun-kissed skin, I feel. I’ve yet to come up with eye looks for them, but being that the colors compliment each other, I don’t think that would be difficult at all.

This isn’t much of the glittery shimmers, but I’m really glad I found this palette. Of course, we’re told to rise and shine, but sometimes it’s cool to be matte too so we can realize how beautiful it is to just watch everything else do the shining for us.:)

It wasn’t too long since I first expressed interest in eye shadows. The popular choice then was the Urban Decay Naked palette, but having to shell out Php3,200.00 on one palette just didn’t sit well with me. I was just as horrified at the idea of purchasing fake make-up, be it Class A, AA, AAA or whatever, mainly because of the dangerous levels of Arscenic.

I was considering Smashbox Heat Wave, was wanting Clarins The Essentials, and was way too close to buying Laura Mercier Holiday 2013. Then I just realized how much of an eye shadow beginner I am, and that using pricey make-up improperly was just plain impractical. Thankfully, there’s ELF.

I had just received my ELF Eyeshadow Palette today. I was quite lucky that it came in the mail today, just as I’m on Wellness Leave.

The reason why I chose ELF is that it’s an established brand, but at the same time, it isn’t so expensive that I’d feel bad if I were to make mistakes in application. It isn’t so cheap either that I’d be thinking about child laborers and arscenic with every stroke of a makeup brush. I also like that this is baked, which gives excellent color payoff.

So we get ten colors in a palette. This one’s in California. You see a lot of neutrals, and few dark colors, perfect for day and night. There’s another palette, New York, which is moatly dominated by darker colors, more appropriate for evening looks. Frankly, I didn’t give it a second look.. and no, I’m not just being prejudiced because I lived in California at some point in my life. Haha.

SWATCHES:I did the swatching by taking the fleshy part of my fingers and drawing circles on the pans while counting to 5. For information.:)

The shades on top, I would say, are pinky bronzy beigey. These are more appropriate for a very minimal look. You have your highlighting and base colors there. I can see myself using these quite often.

The shades at the bottom are a bit more kick-ass, being the darker ones. I’d most probably use this for a night out or something. I imagine the shades second from the left hand side, slightly comparable to Laura Mercier’s African Violet.

Oh, I have favorite shades, by the way. They don’t have names, so I’m not quite sure what I should call them, though if it were up to me, I’d call them Laura, Golden Girl, and Royce.

PACKAGING.
I don’t have many complaints about he packaging. It’s not as hin as those I’ve seen from Nars, but I can live with that. I’ve watched a few reviews expressing how the package is prety much a fingerprint-magnet–

..but I can live with that.:)

I’ve also heard how the glitter falls everywhere when you use brushes so I tried it out. I’ve experienced that with both a fluffy brush and a stiff brush when used dry. It’s nothing major though as it’s minimal. It won’t make a mess on your table, because the palette itself is rimmed.

The two palettes, California and New York lock in together, by the way, but being that I don’t exactly need the New York palette, I’m cool with having my one palette that doesn’t need to be locked into anything.

STARS.
Do I really need to give stars, hearts, or whatever grading system there is for reviewing stuff? I like the palette, that should be enough, right?:)

Oh my goodness, I almost forgot to rewrite about this. I actually wrote this two days ago in the car. The driver was out, and I was bored inside, so I decided to write. I must’ve pressed something to delete it, because I couldn’t find the draft anymore. FAIL. Well anyway, I’m on self-granted Sanity Leavefrom school, so yeah, I’ve got the time.

I’ve been meaning to get the Bloom Secret Weapon Concealer Kit in Medium/Dark for a little but less than a month, and I finally did so last Saturday. I was hoping to get it Beauty Bar at Gateway Mall, but I decided to get it a Robinsons Magnolia instead. I think this was Php545.00.

I’ll be honest, I can’t really give a good first impression about the concealer kit, since I’ve already stalked the product like crazy even before I bought it, and.. I’ve yet to use it because.. hmm.. because.. Well, I guess I’m simply not the type of girl who’d apply makeup for the sole sake of applying. That doesn’t mean that I won’t make a review though.:)

I like the packaging. I’m used to seeing concealer in tiny round pots, in tubes that look like those of lipgloss and lipstick, but this is somewhat different. The palette is somewhat like an ice cube tray. The card thing slides on and serves at its cover. The package is quite thin that it would definietly find its place in a cosmetic pouch.

The card thing that doubles as a lid has instructions at the back. The concealer kit houses 6 concealer shades. A guide telling us how to use the shades is quite helpful, especially if we’re dealing with green concealer. Frankly, I like it when makeup comes with instructions on how to use them. It makes things a whole lot more noob-friendly.:)

I get skin discolorations and redness quite frequently, and now that I’m more educated about concealer shades and their uses, I feel more confident that I’d be able to fix myself up a little bit better. They say that imperfection is beauty, but of course, there’s nothing more beautiful than a confident woman who knows how to work it in order to bring out the best in her in spite of said imperfection.